


Your College English Classes, Except with Hot Guys Banging.

by Lanna Michaels (lannamichaels)



Series: Your College Course Catalog [1]
Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Alternate Universe, College AU, Completely shameless, M/M, Things To Do With A BA In English, crackfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-01
Updated: 2012-02-01
Packaged: 2017-10-30 11:52:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/331473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannamichaels/pseuds/Lanna%20Michaels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ENGL305A: Special Topics In Literature: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Literatures. 3 Credits. Grade Method: Regular/Pass-Fail/Audit. Diversity (D) Course. Prerequisite: two lower-level literature courses or permission of department. Also offered as LGBT342C. Instructor: D. Galeni (Seats: 35, Open: 3, Waitlist: 0). <a href="">Book List.</a> TuTh: 11:00am-12:15pm (EVH 0205SE - <a href="">Campus Map</a>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your College English Classes, Except with Hot Guys Banging.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thefourthvine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefourthvine/gifts).



> For [](http://thefourthvine.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**thefourthvine**](http://thefourthvine.dreamwidth.org/) because it was [too good a title](http://thefourthvine.dreamwidth.org/161792.html?thread=11904000) not to do.

1.

Do not ask Duv Galeni about the Great Straight-Washing Of The English Canon. Just don't. 

Because why ask when you could take his LGBT Literature class instead?

"I don't see why this is such a big deal," Duv says.

"Bel says your opinions on Virginia Woolf are interesting," Ivan moans. " _Interesting_. From hir, that's nearly a marriage proposal."

Duv smirks.

"And Elena pre-emptively told me that she isn't doing it to spy on you for me, which means now that my two best friends are on your side forever now. I hope you're happy."

"You can have Miles back any time you like," Duv offers. " _Any_ time."

Ivan considers. "No, on second thought, you can keep both of them." He pats Duv on the shoulder. "I appreciate your sacrifice."

"Sure," Duv says. "You're going to have to talk to him eventually, you know."

"Lies," Ivan says. "I am a champion at avoidance."

"I'd noticed," Duv sighs. "All right, have it your way." He pulls Ivan in for a quick kiss. "See you after class tonight?"

Ivan nods. "Yeah, I'll walk up afterward. Save me some dinner." 

 

2.

What happened was: Miles ran off to join a band.

Okay, no, he didn't.

What happened was: the first week at university, Miles and Ivan and Elena met Bel and Elli and Duv. Ivan went off to a convenient corner with Duv, who was older and therefore mature and was also tall, dark, and mysterious, and all of those factors were working in his favor that night, and Miles and Elena and Bel and Elli went out back and started messing around with the guitars in the back of Bel's car.

By midterms, Miles was spending more time with the Dendarii than on studying and Miles's parents kept calling Ivan worriedly to check up on Miles. And Ivan's mother was sending him five-page-long e-mails that oh so politely asked after Miles, which from Mama meant that she was worried sick.

And then Miles passed his exams with flying colors, that little fucker, and his GPA ended up higher than Ivan's, and Ivan actually did spend time studying, thank you very much. Unlike certain people.

Oh, and then he moved in with Duv, and the e-mails from his mother took a whole different turn.

 

3.

Bel's the one to drag Ivan to the LGBT club on campus. Ivan would rather be acting gay than talking about being gay, Ivan had pointed out, and then Duv had winced and so Ivan is doing this to make his boyfriend happy. Not because he needs to socialize or because he thinks anything other than a rainbow-themed headache is going to come out of this.

Come out. Ha.

Ivan doesn't know what anyone's talking about. He should totally go do stand-up on open mike night. 

"Everyone, this is Ivan," Bel says. "This is his first time here." Someone hands Bel a piece of cardboard paper cut out in the shape of a toaster. Bel sticks it in hir back pocket. "One more to bingo! Ivan, this is everyone. Say hello to everyone."

"Hi," Ivan says. "I'm Ivan."

"Say a little about yourself," Bel prompts him.

"Uh, I'm a sophomore," Ivan says. "I'm an English major. I'm not very interesting."

Then he sits down.

When he gets back to their apartment, Duv hugs him. "Thank you," he says. "I know it's still difficult for you."

"What? No, it's not," Ivan says, and then pushes Duv back towards the bed to demonstrate how completely difficult this is _not_.

But he starts going to the safe space meetings whenever he can fit them in, because it turns out that other people have problems coming and being out, and Ivan is nothing if not willing to be the sounding-board for other people's problems.

Oh, all right, it helps. But you didn't hear him admit that.

 

4.

Duv is crying.

Goddamn Tennyson.

Ivan calls Elena in a panic. "Help-poetry-made-Duv-cry," he blurts out.

"Tennyson?" Elena guesses.

Ivan babbles an assent.

"Put me on speakerphone," Elena says. She waits for Ivan to do it, then says loudly, "Hey, Galeni! Put your hands up and step away from In Memoriam!"

"I think it's the Lady of Shallot, actually," Ivan whispers.

"Your boyfriend is weird," Elena says and hangs up.

"I am half-sick of shadows," Duv says tearfully, and Ivan tucks him into bed with a cup of tea and a chocolate-chip cookie and a battered copy of Pride and Prejudice to cheer him up.

 

5.

Ivan keeps putting BUY MORE PLUMS IF YOU FINISH THEM on the shopping list.

"You think you're funny?" Duv's father asks when he finally deigns to visit and notices it tacked to the refrigerator above the take-out menus and word magnets.

"I know I am," Ivan says serenely.

Duv's father leaves an hour later and Duv collapses back into the sofa. Ivan orders emergency pizza.

"It's all Nate's fault, really," Duv says through a haze of cheese. "He made him happy, did everything right, played the good son to the hilt. And then I ran off with a flashy, trashy novel instead of getting my MBA as a good son should. You being here is just rubbing it in. I thought he was going to burst something."

"Is that good or bad?" Ivan asks.

"Good," Duv says quickly. "Good. Very, very good."

"Whew," Ivan says. Mama's objections had only been about grandchildren. Ivan'd had no idea what would've happened if Duv's father's disapproval turned out to be a deal-breaker. "That's good, then."

 

6.

They have the weirdest fights. The weirdest.

Duv loves Jane Austen and Wordsworth (Wordsworth! Who loves Wordsworth?!!! Duv Galeni that's who. Ivan weeps for humanity) and Coleridge and the Brontes and is apparently in love with an entire historical period.

And meanwhile Ivan's in this for the postmodernists. One day he plans to get a tattoo sleeve of Howl. And it'll be awesome and worth every second of pain.

The upside is that Ivan gets to sling, "you're such a Romantic!" at Duv outside of his office on Valentine's Day and people laugh.

Ivan likes the people who hang out in the English department. They get his jokes.

 

7.

They both spend most of their money on books, but one day, Duv shoves a shopping bag at Ivan, blushing so hard it's adorable.

Ivan peaks in the bag, then blushes too. It's handcuffs and-- and interesting underwear and-- and other stuff. Lots of other stuff.

"Interested?" Duv asks.

Ivan grins. "Very interested." 

 

8.

Duv is a morning person, which is a terrible thing to witness. And sometimes he tries to act as Ivan's alarm clock, which is even terribler. More terrible.

"This is why you should get up," Duv says sensibly.

Ivan hides under the covers.

Duv pokes him.

"Five more minutes?"

There's a pause and then Duv agrees. "Five more minutes. But then I bring out Kubla Khan. And I know you won't like that."

Yeah, well, Ivan's seen the best minds of his generation destroyed by writing term papers until four in the morning. So there.

 

9.

Duv is the organized one. Ivan can waste time with the best of them. They both read over even the notes tacked to the refrigerator with a pen in hand poised for corrections.

And yet somehow it works.

Honestly, they're as bewildered as everyone else.

 

10.

For Ivan's birthday, Miles writes him a song about Kerouac and Ivan decides to forgive him.


End file.
